Happy Thanksgiving !
All of us at
Old Dog Haven
are thankful for
our loyal
supporters.
November 2015
PAULA MORESCHI AND JOE MYERS: OLD DOG HAVEN’S DYNAMIC DUO
Here’s what Paula has to say about their rela*onship with
ODH:
Photo
by
Julie
Aus/n
“Our connec*on with Old Dog Haven probably began like
most—we had an old dog that died and we found we’d
developed a big so9 spot for them.
“Grieving for our basset Lucy, we discovered the Old Dog
Haven website and began sponsoring Old Dog Haven Final
Refuge dogs in Lucy’s honor. Then I started volunteering,
walking old dogs for the Krutsingers who had a herd of Old
Dog Haven dogs at the *me. I par*cularly bonded with one of
their recent ODH dogs Rodger (who had cancer) so, with
permission from Judith, I brought him home. Joe walked in
that night, greeted Rodger and announced, ‘I love him
already.’ Rodger lived for three glorious months before his
cancer claimed him but we were hooked.
Not only are Paula Moreschi and Joe Myers husband and
wife, but they’re partners in their devo*on to old dogs and
their commitment to Old Dog Haven. Paula is our Outreach
Coordinator in charge of marke*ng, outreach and
fundraising and Joe is our resident graphic designer. Paula
says, “I come up with ideas, make a list of what art work I
need to make the projects successful, and Joe does his
magic.”
As a team they are responsible for major fundraising
events, like Give BIG, the amazingly successful Walk For
Old Dogs, which Paula says is a success because of “our
combined efforts and a team of dedicated volunteers,” and
many other projects. Paula is also Vice-President of the
Board of Directors and is constantly coming up with
outreach and marke*ng opportuni*es to encourage
people to support ODH.
While Paula is busy dreaming up new
ways to help ODH, Joe makes our
visual footprint interes*ng and
professional whether he’s designing
the headers for the web page,
crea*ng the calendar, producing the
art for the Walk For Old Dogs,
designing the back cover of the book
about ODH, or crea*ng anything
needed in the realm of design work.
Paula
with
Ber*e
& Elvis
(L) and
Bogart
“It escalated from there. Awestruck at the excellent paid vet
care, we thought we should help raise some money to
support Old Dog Haven. I started working benefits, and
discovered that when old dogs were involved, I had no
problems asking people for money and dreaming up new
ways to get it. Joe, a graphic designer, started doing support
materials. We took in more ODH dogs, including some
hospice dogs, and a dog, Reagan who became a family
favorite and something of an ODH mascot. Finally Judith
asked me to be on the ODH board.
“It has been a fascina*ng ride
and not always an easy one.
Time is short, the needs are
long and we grieve for every
dog we lose. But the joy in a
dog who realizes that they have
a safe and loving home is
addic*ve. One liAle dog,
Snookie, literally smiled when
she saw our house for the first
*me. Supposedly a blind
hospice dog with three months
to live, she skipped up our steps, hopped into the biggest dog
bed we had and lived joyfully for over a year. YoYo, a liAle
dachshund we just lost, may never have
had a loving home un*l we had her.
ODH snagged her from a shelter the day
YoYo
she was to be put down and she spent
two happy years with us cuddling, going
Gena
on walks and blanket diving.
Snookie
“In the end it’s about the dogs and their
amazing capacity to enjoy life and to
love. It’s been a blessing to have been
with all of them.”
Thank you Paula and Joe for everything
you do to help our dogs!
FUNDRAISING BENEFITS FOR ODH
We’re always very grateful that so many individuals, groups and small businesses take it upon themselves to host benefits for
ODH. This kind of unsolicited generosity is a wonderful compliment, as well as a tremendous boost to our financial ability to
help old dogs. We’d like to especially thank the following groups and individuals :
ODH’s Honorary Photographer
Julie Aus/n held a photo shoot to
benefit ODH at Natural Pet
Pantry.
The Sea*le Barkery (food truck
Julie works her magic
for dogs) was featured at
Shoreline’s last Food Truck Night
of the year. There was a photo booth for dogs (many came
in costume) with part of the proceeds going to ODH. The
SeaAle Barkery has dedicated their *p jar to ODH.
It was an evening of good fun and good beer at Reuben’s
Brews Thank You Thursday. Reuben’s Brews donated $1 for
every beer sold that night and SeaAle Veterinary Associates
matched every $1 raised. Among those aAending were ODH
Final Refuge parents Wendy and Forrest Giberson with FR
dogs Trudy (with Wendy) and Merlin (with Forrest) as well as
Final Refuge dog Bogart’s vet Dr. Mor*mer from SeaAle
Veterinary Associates. (Bogart isn’t looking blurry because he’s
had too much beer; he’s just a very ac*ve liAle guy who can’t
sit s*ll.)
Run to Be Fit hosted another fundraiser for ODH at the Red
Hook Brewery Trail. Even though it was the start of the big
wind storm, several brave souls came out to run for the
dogs.
The 501st Legion (the coolest bad
guys doing good) selected ODH as
beneficiary from their appearance at
the Bellingham Comicon conven*on.
The Force is with old dogs too!
Vocalist Joy Baldridge and vocalist/pianist Josh VerHalen held
a benefit concert for ODH and the United Church of Ferndale.
Treat Me Right
chose ODH to be a
beneficiary of dog
cookie sales during
October. Final
Refuge dog Bernie
puts her bite of
approval on a
deli cious cookie
made just for her.
Cascade Comets Dog Sports Club con*nues its long*me
dona*on to ODH.
Our loyal supporters Hope for Old Hounds
held a luncheon and silent auc*on as well
as a garage sale to benefit ODH and Save-A
-MuA’s Senior Dog Program.
The Dryja family had a party and asked
guests to bring dona*ons to support ODH.
Ocean Shores Animal
Hospital, a true friend
to ODH, hosted a 21st
birthday party for ODH
Final Refuge dog
Sammy
Sammy and raised a
significant amount of
money! Sammy made an awesome personal appearance too.
Natural Pet Pantry celebrated all senior pets during
September and October by having a dona*on drive for ODH.
Whiskey Ridge Brewing held a fundraiser for
ODH.
Cascade Kennels hosted
their third Haunted Puppy
Town fundraiser for several animal groups, including ODH.
Thanks to Laura Coffey (author) and Lori
Fusaro (photographer) of My Old Dog for
invi*ng ODH to their local book signings.
Stacie, an ODH dog, graces the cover of
this wonderful book and there is a
chapter on ODH as well as gorgeous
photos and great informa*on about old
dogs.
SAVE THIS DATE!
On December 13 (1:00-5:00)
ODH will be hos*ng a wine
tas*ng event at Northwest
Cellars (11909 124th Ave.
NE, Kirkland) to benefit the
Maranda Fund. If you are
unable to aAend, you can
s*ll order wine with a
special ODH label designed
by Joe Myers. See our
website for details.
ODH BOOK RECEIVES THIRD AWARD
Old Dog Haven: Every Old Dog Has a Story to
Tell has just received another award: Finalist
in the "Non-Fic*on-Animals" category of the
2015 Readers' Favorite Interna*onal Book
Awards. The book was also named as a
Finalist in the “Animals/Pets: Narra*ve Non-Fic*on”
category of the 2014 USA Best Book Awards, as well as the
2015 Na*onal Indie Excellence Book Awards.
The E-Book version is now available through Amazon.
KUDOS TO VOLUNTEER JENNIFER REMY
“I was taking my dog Louie to
a new veterinarian for a
senior wellness exam back in
Dec 2013. As Louie was being
checked out, I talked about
how I enjoy having senior
dogs because they're more
laid back and don't have many
of the annoying quali*es that
puppies usually have. My vet
asked me if I had heard of Old
Dog Haven (which I hadn't)
and went on to tell me a liAle
about the organiza*on. Of
course this piqued my
interest and that evening I
Jennifer with ODH Final Refuge looked up Old Dog Haven on
their website. I felt
dogs Angel (L) and Kaiser
immediately drawn to the
values and compassion that Old Dog Haven exhibits by the
outreach they perform for the forgoAen and unwanted old
dogs in Western WA. A9er discussing ODH with my husband,
we decided to put in an applica*on and received a wonderful
small long haired blond dog we named Russell (a9er the
Seahawks QB) in January 2014 - the year we won the Super
Bowl!
“I live in Olympia and wanted to become more involved with
ODH. Judith got me in touch with a very nice man named Jon
in the area. We talked via email and I met him and another
wonderful person in ODH, Anna (Area Foster Coordinator), at
the booth at the Dog Gone Easter Egg Hunt in Lacey. I brought
with me a Final Refuge dog named Mr. Magoo that I'd had for
only a week. He was a sweetheart and helped to aAract many
people to the booth. At that point, whether Jon and Anna
knew it, they were stuck with me! I con*nue to help at the
Cathy
(right)
withand
“shopper-stopper”
Anna
ODH booths at local events
when
I can
have hosted two
South Puget Sound Area
ODH
gatherings
at my home. Annie
and
visitor.
Cathy
(right)
with “shopper-stopper”
“I took on two new tasks recently with ODH: I was manager
for the day at the Annual Walk for Old Dogs and Old Dog
Pageant held in July. Paula organizes this en*re event from
beginning to end with such great finesse. I just came in and
helped wrangle the volunteers (who were so awesome)
together on the day itself. We then did anything and
everything to make the day run as smoothly as possible
beginning with set-up, ending with tear-down and everything
in-between. In September, at the Volunteer Picnic for ODH, I
helped take some of the load off of Gabrielle by organizing
just part of the day - the lunch spread (along with Paula).
“I was raised by loving parents who were dog lovers and have
always had dogs in my life. I have a very close knit family that
spends a lot of *me together and vaca*ons together. When
we go camping, there are some*mes more dogs than humans
in our group! O9en we go to the Oregon beaches and ride
ATVs. Almost all of our dogs love going for a ride on the quad
and feeling the wind blow across their faces. I treasure the old
dogs and what they have to teach us.”
Thank you, Jennifer! We appreciate you!
ODH WELCOMES NEW BOARD MEMBER
Meet Dianne Marlow, long*me foster and volunteer, who
recently joined the ODH Board of Directors:
“I became involved with Old Dog Haven in 2011 a9er my two
beloved special needs senior Chow Chows Biscuit and Turner
died. Although a registered nurse and paralegal by training, I’ve
most enjoyed my *me spent as a volunteer matchmaker,
adop*ons counselor and outreach coordinator for local
shelters and rescue groups for the last sixteen years. I had
learned about ODH from volunteers at events and was very
aware of the seemingly endless list of senior dogs wai*ng for
foster homes in our shelters. Final Refuge fostering was a
perfect fit for me and I signed on for what has become an
incredibly rewarding experience. ODH has truly become a
family to me, with so many friends always available for advice
and fun events.
At home with Juju
(L)Dianne and Remy spread the word about ODH.
“I have an affinity for the “underdogs” – breeds more
challenging to place such as Chow Chows and the bully breeds,
special needs dogs and of course the seniors. In fostering for
ODH, I take whoever needs me most, as long as they are willing
to live with cats.
“At the moment I am home to four ODH foster dogs: Pookah
the Final Refuge Rhodesian Ridgeback/pibble mix, soon-to-beadoptable Remy the Papillon and very recently two urgent
need Yorkies Pippa and Maeve, who have just begun their
medical work-ups. The resident foster-siblings are seniors
Keller the congenitally deaf heeler/pibble and also a mul*ple
mast cell cancer survivor, Juju the Chow Chow, who lives with a
cardiac arrhythmia and severe arthri*s, as well as two special
needs tabbies Oliver & Mr. KiAers (aka the cat-gauntlet all
fosters must pass through to get into the house). I’ve adored
every ODH dog I’ve fostered and have advanced my canine
husbandry skills to include expert diapering and belly
banding.
“In addi*on to fostering, aAending ODH events and
volunteering as the ODH Microchip Coordinator, I am
passionate about farmed animal welfare and an advocate for a
vegan lifestyle. I look forward to working with the ODH board
to bring security, happiness and an improved quality of life to
our Western Washington senior dogs. “
Welcome Dianne! We’re very happy to have you on the Board.
I would like to help. Enclosed please find a dona*on in the amount of $____________
Please make check payable to: Old Dog Haven.
ODH is a 501(c)3 charitable organiza*on: dona*ons are tax-deduc*ble.
Name_______________________________________________________________________
Address_____________________________________________________________________
City___________________________State__________________Zip_______________
Phone ( )___________ email__________________________________________________
Please mail your dona*on to: 621 State Route 9 NE, PMB A-4, Lake Stevens, WA 98258-8525.
Check if you would like an ODH Calendar. (available with dona*on of $30 or more)
THANK
YOU!
If you would like to
help by fostering or
providing a Final
Refuge home,
please contact us!
(360) 653-0311
November 2015
A MESSAGE FROM LEE PIPER: ODH FOUNDING DAD AND CHIEF FACTOTUM
This month, a Thanksgiving message from Founding Dad and anchor of ODH’s administra*on:
Every night at dinner we give a cheer for the dogs who were liberated from shelters and brought to
ODH homes or found adop*ve homes for the rest of their lives.
We salute and grieve for those we’ve lost, but take comfort knowing they had warm loving homes and
gentle ear strokes as they le9.
We anguish over unnecessary suffering due to neglecXul caregivers or unsympathe*c professionals.
Our ranks of Final Refuge dogs and caring ODH homes con*nues to grow, along with the cost. Even
with the daily losses, the need seems endless.
So, at this holiday we give hearXelt thanks for the very special people - our foster families, volunteers and generous donors who care enough to make this all possible.
Happy Thanksgiving.
Lee Piper
621 SR 9 NE, PMB A4
Lake Stevens, WA 98258
Dog Ac*vity: January-October 2015
283 dogs in care as of 10/31/15
278 are in Final Refuge homes
5 are in foster homes awai*ng
adop*on
135 new dogs were taken into care
between 1/1 - 10/31
122 came from shelters
13 came from individuals
347 new dogs were posted for individuals,
shelters and other rescue groups
482 new dogs were helped 1/1-10/31
We mourn the loss of ODH foster
dad Mike Walker. Mike’s love for
his dogs, especially ODH dog
Murphy, was very strong and he
truly was a gi9 to them as well as
to his wife Katherine.
ODH dogs featured in the header on page
1 are: (L-R) Stella, Violet, Granny, Clayton,
Penelope, Pookah, Abbey, Grace, and
Claire
OLD DOG HAVEN BOARD OF DIRECTORS
DOG SPONSORSHIPS MAKE GREAT HOLIDAY
GIFTS!
Check our website for details.
We congratulate ODH foster
parents Sara and MaA Chaney on
their September wedding. Their
ODH dogs Keno and Bailey were
thrilled at the excitement!
288 dogs were adopted 1/1-10/31
Newsle&er Editor: Ardeth De Vries
Ardeth De Vries, Gabrielle Flanagan,
Dianne Marlow, Deeanne Matz, Paula
Moreschi , Anna Mumaw
Placement/Intake Coordinator: Tina Nabseth
Transport/Foster Care Coordinator: Barb Bauer
Execu*ve Director: Judith Piper
Chief Factotum: Lee Piper
Telephone & Fax: (360) 653-0311
email: offi[email protected]
web site: www.olddoghaven.org
Mailing address:
621 State Route 9 NE, PMB A-4
Lake Stevens, WA 98258-8525